According to information received here, the unheralded Indian duo had a slender 112-111 lead against the Italian world champions Sergio Pagni and Marcella Toniolli at the end of third set.
But the inexperienced Indians faltered by a couple of millimetres in the final arrow to go down 149-150 in a thrilling contest.
India have never won a gold medal in the compound section and their previous best in this format was in the Ogden World Cup 2011 (Stage III) when the women's team of Manjudha, Gagandeep Kaur and Jhano Hansdah had won a silver.
Having just won a team bronze this morning, Pagni quickly adapted to the windy condition along with his partner as the Italian opened up a three-point lead (39-36) in the first end.
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However Tonioli was caught by the wind in the second end with a 6 but Italy still held their lead (74-73) at the midway stage.
India's score of 39 in the third end put them in the driving seat as they snatched the lead (112-111).
The duo crumbled under pressure with a 10-9, the last arrow being just a couple of millimetres out to miss out on what could have been a historic gold for India.
Earlier, the fancied Indian recurve archers had crashed out before the quarters as India concluded their campaign with the silver lining from the compound archers.